The Delaware-based hardcore crew Year Of The Knife’s new record Internal Incarceration is absolutely pulverizing. Listening to the record feels a bit like stepping into the path of a rockslide — the band sound, quite simply, monstrously heavy, and they’ve also got an endlessly propulsive, pummeling energy running through essentially the entire album that feels inescapably invigorating.
Seriously — there’s no sense on Internal Incarceration that Year Of The Knife have held just about anything back. There’s a real thickness in the band’s churning sound to the point that there’s little to no breathing space on the record, which is packed with brazenly blood-pumping furor that feels like a jolt to the chest from the album’s very first moments.
The ferocious guitar riffing (which is part of the band’s remarkably full-feeling sound) sports somewhat of a metallic edge; the band have cited influences from death metal, and that sort of vibe definitely lurks throughout the songs. The guitar and bass components on the record often take on a kind of physically pummeling feel in line with the deeply resonating blasts on the drums, and the elements cohesively blend to fuel the record’s overall onslaught. Year Of The Knife underpin their staggering level of physical ferocity with some remarkably poignant songwriting. The band’s songs frequently feel catchy — at least as much as that description can apply to a collection of songs that feel like they’re breathing fire.
The band’s memorable musical moments (of which there are many) range from the earth-rattling breakdown at the end of “Manipulation Artist” to the more cacophonous, adrenaline-soaked uproar on the title track to the raging tidal wave that rolls in during the last minute or so of “Sick Statistic.” During that part, the band’s beastly yet accessible-sounding vocalist Tyler Mullen repeatedly roars: “Fix me!” as the music gradually gets more intense, and it hits like a ton of bricks that have been swung straight for the gut.
Calling the record “angry” doesn’t feel like it would do the listening experience justice. Year Of The Knife sound more like they’ve captured something beyond the confines of ordinary anger in which a deeply churning, boiling rage has been intermingled with exhilarating catharsis.
5/5 Stars
Internal Incarceration is available now via Pure Noise Records. Listen below!